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My name is Diana. I am the blogger behind Offbeat Vagabond. I just
wanted something to help me rant on about things I love or don't quite
love. I am big on books, especially Urban
Fantasy, it is my favorite genre. Any Romance has to be Paranormal,
because love isn't natural without a gun and a beast involved. Although my tastes are very much expanding, I have discovered a love for Contemporary even BDSM (shocking!) I love
movies. Sci-fi/Fantasy/Horror/Action, pretty much anything as long as no
Romantic Comedies are involved (Katherine Heigl, you have been warned).
Music, TV, Wrestling are all my things as well (although I haven't been watching Wrestling as much as I used to). I am doing this for fun. I want to
write on a professional front, so blogging is a good stepping stone for
me. I just hope that stone doesn't have moss and I slip and break
something. So join me in my little piece of the Internet and remember,
it is normal to be abnormal

Siege is the conclusion to Rhiannon Frater’s As the World Dies trilogy, which should appeal to fans of The Walking Dead. Both The First Days and Fighting to Survive won the Dead Letter Award from Mail Order Zombie. The First Days was named one of the Best Zombie Books of the Decade by the Harrisburg Book Examiner.

The zombie illness has shattered civilization. The survivors who have
found tenuous safety in Texas defend their fort against the walking
dead and living bandits.

Katie has made peace with the death of her wife and is pregnant and
married to Travis, who has been elected Mayor. Jenni, her stepson,
Jason; and Juan—Travis’s righthand man—are a happy family, though Jenni
suffers from PTSD. Both women are deadly zombie killers. In Siege,
the people of Ashley Oaks are stunned to discover that the vice
president of the United States is alive and commanding the remnants of
the US military. What’s left of the US government has plans for this
group of determined survivors.

I
am inspired and intrigued by what frightens me. Writing about what I
fear compels me to step outside my comfort zone and forces me to
confront issues and themes that are not always easy to discuss.
Creating an imaginary world where terrible things happen to fictional
characters is an easier (and safer) way to deal with issues we must
all face at some time in our lives such as loss of loved ones,
overcoming adversity, and evolving in the face of hardship. But it
also allows me as a writer to also delve into much more frightening
and rare occurrences such as war, natural disasters, and apocalyptic
scenarios.

When
I sat down to write the AS THE WORLD DIES zombie trilogy, I wanted to
address the zombie apocalypse in a realistic manner. Though the
scenario of the dead wandering the earth and eating the living is
highly unrealistic, I wanted the characters of the story to be
everyday people who somehow manage to live past the first terrifying
days of the plague. I didn’t want any Rambos or Ripleys in the
mix. I wanted people who would resemble me and the reader.

Within
each character in AS THE WORLD DIES there is familiarity. The
characters are people we know or maybe even aspect of ourselves. They
all have different strengths and weaknesses, personality flaws, and
issues to overcome. Because I wanted my characters to be everyday
folks, their reactions to their terrible circumstances are grounded
in reality.

For
example, Jenni is a battered housewife/trophy wife at the beginning
of the first book in the trilogy, THE FIRST DAYS. After the
devastating death of her children, Jenni is rescued by Katie. At
first she is in shock, but slowly evolves throughout the series into
a much stronger (yet not always stable) person. To make Jenni
realistic, I drew on the coping mechanisms victims in abusive
situations develop. The mind is amazing in its capacity to adapt to
dire circumstances in order to ensure survival. Jenni’s ability to
basically cut off her emotions and compartmentalize allows her to
survive better than people who have yet to develop these coping
skills. Also, Jenni is extremely used to living in a life-threatening
situation on a daily basis, so the zombocalypse is not much different
in some respects. Though sometimes readers get mad at Jenni for her
immaturity (she was married at 17 and isolated from the world by her
husband) and her bizarre actions, she remains one of the most
popular, if not the most popular, character in the series.

Oftentimes
readers of the series tell me how the characters in the book feel
like friends. They worry about them, fear for them, and sometimes
mourn them. I have also been told how readers feel so attached to
the world and the characters they feel like they are in the action.
I contribute this to the fact that they characters feel like people
we know in our everyday lives, it is easy to slip into the dangerous
world of AS THE WORLD DIES with them.

Though
I love superheroes and magical/supernatural characters, in the end
they are far removed from me with their abilities. I know I can’t
do the things they can do. But I can easily imagine myself on a
rescue run with Jenni and Katie, clutching a gun, sweating with
anxiety, and feeling sick to my stomach with fear. Somehow this
translates to the reader as well. I’ve heard so many stories of
people having to put the book aside so their wildly beating heart
could calm down. Honestly, I’ve stopped typing for the same reason.

There
is a certain magic that sometimes happens in books that is hard for
the author to explain to the reader, but after a lot of thought I do
believe the reason why my books can be so terrifying is because the
characters are not so far removed from you and me.

So
when a zombie is moving relentlessly toward a character in SIEGE, the
fast beating of your heart and the tremor of fear flitting through
your mind is probably because you could be character facing
uncertain outcome.

Now
the question is…do you survive?

*********************************************

Rhiannon Frater Bio

Rhiannon Frater is the award-winning author of the As the World Dies trilogy (The First Days, Fighting to Survive, Siege,)
and the author of three other books: the vampire novels Pretty When She
Dies and The Tale of the Vampire Bride and the young-adult zombie novel
The Living Dead Boy and the Zombie Hunters. Inspired to
independently produce her work from the urging of her fans, she
published The First Days in late 2008 and quickly gathered a
cult following. She won the Dead Letter Award back-to-back for both The
First Days and Fighting to Survive,
the former of which the Harrisburg Book Examiner called ‘one of the
best zombie books of the decade.’ Rhiannon is currently represented by
Hannah Gordon of the Foundry + Literary Media agency. You may contact
her by sending an email to rhiannonfrater@gmail.com.

Dyletri, God of
Fertility, has locked away his powers. No woman is allowed to touch him,
not until he can return his long-dead lover back to life. All he has to
do is sacrifice one human girl, a girl who unlocks his powers and rips
his dormant lust right out of his body. Trapped by his promise, Dyletri
has no choice but to watch Ismini die, no matter how much he wants her.

Yet
the darkness of his calling is spiraling within him, demanding he claim
the human as his. If he goes back on his promise, the energy of the
Fates will cause untold destruction in the Universe. That doesn’t change
how Dyletri’s begun exhibiting symptoms that point to more than just
lust. How does he allow Ismini to die when she’s come to own him from
the inside out?

Desire and torment spiral into something much
darker than obsession, more turbulent than an addiction, and something
much more brutal than a mere soul-mating. As a war is being rekindled
right under his nose, Dyletri will have to come to terms with a destiny
eleven thousand years in the making. He thought he’d known what path his
future would take, but he’d been wrong. Now the one woman he truly
loves might pay the price for his decision.

Blood Flows Deep in
the Empire is the first in a series that will pit free-will against
Destiny, Destiny against Fate, and love against brutal desire. Everyone
likes to think they have a choice as to who they end up with, but as
they rise to face the greatest threat they’ve ever known, even the Gods
will learn they have to bend to Destiny’s whim to survive.

*********************************************

YES!!!! Yes, yes, yes! Oh my goodness,
this was so good. This is my kind of PNR read. I loved this book so
much. This was like Larissa Ione's Demonica series, but with
gods. The imagination and the dialogue used in this book made me so
happy. I had a fun time with this book and I couldn't put this down
even if I wanted to. Simply put...this book had everything I could
ask for and more. This definitely is going on my favorites list.

Ismini was a great lead. I instantly
loved her and her friends. I related to Ismini the most. I felt sorry
for her because it always seems like she is put on the backburner. He
doesn't think she is good enough and given her fate, that couldn't be
more clear. But I loved that even though she knows why she was
created, she fought for herself. She didn't just lay down and wait to
be the sacrificial lamb she was meant to be, I loved Dyletri. Oh my
goodness, he was mouthwatering. He was also a character I connected
with instantly. He has so much riding on his shoulders and has been
waiting for a very long time to make things right. The chemistry
between these two was explosive from beginning to end. Oh my
goodness, the sex scenes were soooooo good.

Not only are the main characters
great, but the side characters are just as exciting. Ismini's best
friend Evesse was a riot. When she shows up on the scene when she
finds out what is happening to Ismini, she had me dying of laughter.
This girl has a lot of fire to say the least. You never know what she
is going to say next. I loved the push and pull between her and
Zeniel. They were definitely fighting their feelings for each other
in the most entertaining way. It was so much fun. I loved that the
gods are thousands and thousands of years old, but they love the
human world and how we are. They talk like regular humans and it made
the book more fun for me. I just loved these characters. They will
stick with you when the book is done.

I love the idea of this book. Dyletri
is the God of Fertility, but he doesn't want the job anymore. He fell
in love with a woman and now she is dead. So he has made a deal. He
won't touch a woman for eleven thousand years. He will wait until the
woman that possess the right soul to sacrifice. That woman is Ismini.
One he sacrifices Ismini, he will get back the woman he lost and to
save Earth given the promise he broke. Dyletri is very attracted to
Ismini, but that isn't even the half of it. Ismini has quite the
reaction to Dyletri. They try to avoid each other, but that doesn't
work out so well. But it may be more than they both bargained for.
Dyletri has to fight to fix his mistake and an impending war that may
be connected to him and Ismini.

I love this book so much. It is action
packed and loads of fun. The characters are amazing. They all have
very distinct personalities that make them very memorable. You will
love them all, especially the men. Oh the men! The dialogue was so
much fun. The worldbuilding was innovative and engaging. I am going
to read this again before the next book. It is impossible not to. I
highly recommend this book to everyone. Everyone over the age of 18.
This book is very, very steamy. A must read. Do not miss this book.

N. Isabelle Blanco was born in
Queens, NY (USA). At age 3, due to an odd fascination with studying her
mother’s handwriting, she had already begun to read and write. By the
time she’d reached kindergarten, she had an extensive vocabulary and her
obsession with words began to bleed into every aspect of her life. An
avid reader in her teens, a fascination with Japanese anime eventually
led her to the universe of fanfiction.

Her on again, off again
hobby for the next ten years, She amassed a following of fans that, by
her own admission, she would never be able to live without. It was those
fans who encouraged her to step beyond the fanfiction realm and try her
talent in the publishing world.

N. Isabelle’s first ebook,
“Destructively Alluring”, came out July 2012, followed by "Addictive
Lunacy" in September. The third novella in this debut series, "Allure
Magnified," is due in November 2012 and her first full-length novel is
due out next spring.

Certain not to disappoint, “Blood Flows
Deep in the Empire” is a fast-paced, erotically charged thrill ride from
cover to cover. Look for in both print and ebook formats on March 7,
2013.

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Seventeen-year-old Kari
meets Neil Mars. “Neil as in Armstrong and Mars…as in Bruno.” A boy who
beats every vampire, werewolf, highlander fantasy Kari has ever had.
But she knows can’t get close to him. Not ever. Because that would mean
telling him everything. Coming clean. And Kari can’t bear the idea of
changing the way Neil looks at her. Like she’s the only girl in the
world. His reverence is something too precious to lose. Perhaps even at
the cost of losing him.

But Kari doesn't know why Neil calls her
his ‘Angel’ and when she finds out, she realizes what love is all
about. Boundless joy, unending longing and a fuckload of heartache.

Maybe I’ll forget this
feeling someday. Maybe it’ll just be reduced to a memory made up of a
flickering gas heater, the salty dew of his skin and the love in his
dark, inky eyes. This feeling of pure unadulterated joy. Of reaching a
high so potent that your spirit feels like it’s soaring across the
universe…and falling from that glorious peak only to find yourself
enveloped in someone’s warm caring hands. When you feel like you’ve just
died or been born, right at the same time.

It could be that
I’ll forget this feeling someday. But I’m sure it won’t be anytime soon.
Maybe when I’m a hundred and looking forward to my lunch of mashed
bread. Not one single day before.

*********************************************

About Rucy Ban

Rucy Ban was born in 1978 and
still continues to thrive. Ever since she first met Francine (the
protagonist of her favorite novel, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn), Rucy fell
in love with the written word. Rucy has a B-school degree in Marketing
which she now puts to good use teaching lovable rowdy rogues and
negotiating with her equally belligerent adolescent. In her previous
avatar, she handled corporate communications for companies. At present,
Rucy lives in Sao Paulo, travels often, speaks decent, if not quite
fluent, Portuguese and really hates talking about herself in third
person.

Iris Avery and her best
friend, Estella, spend their time drowning in the empty excesses
indulged in by their crowd of Upper East Side snobs until Estella’s
sudden, shocking death.

Iris searches for answers in everything
from philanthropy to hypnotherapy, feeling her existence is nothing more
than a dark half-life full of guilt and repentance, but finds only
endless questions. And several of them revolve around her when she
discovers she’s connected to a high-profile murder.

When
Estella’s voice whispering cryptic commentary in her head, Iris can’t
help but wonder if the hypnotherapy has been helping or hurting. Is her
friend trying to warn her about something?

Bizarre packages pile up on her doorstep, and their meaning is obvious: Iris’s secrets aren’t so secret after all.

*********************************************

Blood Echo was quite the read
for me. I personally have never come across something like this. It
is an emotional thriller that really took me by surprise. Our main
character is Iris. Her and her best friend Estella are rich beyond
belief and spoiled. They are best friends and they have known each
other for a long time. Their relationship is strained and dark at
best. It all started with their drug abuse. They are both drug
addicts. Well at least one of them is. Estella is dead and Iris is
trying to cope with her death. She doesn't know how to handle
Estella's suicide, but she is coping. I like that even with all she
has been through she is still quite the fighter even though she is
very tortured. On top of that, she is also a vampire. I love that
Simonson doesn't say it outright. It is actually very subtle. This is
a thriller with a tad bit of paranormal thrown.

Another aspect I enjoyed about this
book was the emotional rollercoaster. Iris is such a tortured soul,
but there are those along the way that help her. I loved her
relationship with Fred. Fred was a homeless man she met the night she
was turned. He knows everything about her and only because she was
high when she met him. I loved how unlikely their friendship was.
Even though they were so different, they had a lot in common. I also
enjoy her relationship with Darren. Darren was her boyfriend and he
was the on that turned her. He cares about Iris and what she is going
through even though she won't listen. He warned her about the Blakes,
Estella and her family, but she won't listen.

I loved the story. After Estella's
suicide, strange things seem to be happening around Iris. A month
after Estella dies, Estella's father is killed. No one liked the man
especially Estella and her brother Adam. Someone killed him and dump
Estella's secret stash on him. After that, Iris notices someone has
been in her home without her permission. Then other tragedies take
place and it all seems to be centered around Iris. She knows someone
is stalking her. She knows whoever it is knew her and Estella due to
the messages they leave her. Simonson does such a great job building
up this mystery. I am really good at figuring out these mysteries.
This really threw me for a loop. We get a huge reveal halfway in the
book, but it isn't even the icing on the cake. There is much much
more.

I highly recommend this book. It is a
wonderful psychological thriller. I loved the amount of emotion that
was put into this book. The relationships between these characters
was dark and complex. This book could have easily been written
without the little vampire twist because Iris is very much human. But
her powers do come in handy (she has the ability to heal and kill
with just the touch of her hands). This book will grab your attention
from the very first page. I read it in a day. That ending, oh my
goodness that ending. Wow! Check this out today.

Melissa has been writing for four years and started mainly out of
weekend boredom. She’s a self-professed caffeine addict and a terrible
driver; she has a weird fascination with rosary beads, complicated
cocktails, and Diet Coke.

When she’s not writing, she can be found watching endless hours of Dexter and Weeds and reading dark, gritty fiction.

Since she saw him in her favorite movie Snatch, Melissa has wanted to marry Jason Statham.

She lives in Southern California with her four year old son, Liam, who is already smarter than she is.